René Redzepi knows the value of a mentor. The Noma chef's own instructor was Frenchman Phillip Houdet who runs the Michelin-starred Pierre Andre in Copenhagen. "He was the one who blew the fire," says Redzepi. "He told me I had talent, he lets me experiment and gave me space."

It's a feeling Redzepi is keen to instil in his York-born sous chef Sam Miller. Redzepi is full of praise for the 29-year-old. "He truly is a rare talent, he is the full package. Some people are great at running a team but not so good creatively, he gives both."

"That's very nice of him," Sam says when I tell him. "But I'm just down to earth really."

You might ask how a Brit ends up at the heart of this most Nordic of environments. Miller says that, inspired by his three years working at Le Champignon Sauvage in Cheltenham, he has always been interested in "working with wild products, foraged things".

After a stint in Spain he found his way into the Noma kitchen and discovered a connection: "Most of the products and ingredients at Noma are similar to what I've eaten growing up in Yorkshire. After all the climate in Denmark is pretty similar to that of northern England."

Miller has been at Noma for two-and-half years, for the past year or so as sous chef. The way they both speak gives the impression the atmosphere of the Noma kitchen is more like that of salon, but only less heated. With long discussions about the taste of beetroot. Redzepi says: "I don't want it to be a brawling kitchen."

Miller agrees that Redzepi's style is more Wenger than Ferguson. "Rene will always find time to answer questions, he's very approachable. In London kitchens you're often battling against each other – but here we're all one team."

Miller says that since starting at Noma, "I've gone up levels and levels as a chef. For one dish we can sometimes taste 15 varieties of apple a day until we get the right one. I've learned to use this level of scrutiny on everything, because every component is important."

In return, Redzepi says he has learned about the value of injecting a little humour into the dishes from Sam.

"The other day he took a beef cheek and cooked it in ale. It came with a beer bottle, which when you opened it contained the sauce for the beef. Did it make the sauce taste better? No. But it makes you smile and laugh."